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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2010385" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Steven Creech, Exec. Chairman d20 Magazine RackSizing Up the TargetEldest Sons: The Essential Guide to Elves is the latest product from Paradigm Concepts in their Races of Legend series. Part of the cooperative OGL Interlink effort with Green Ronin, Eldest Sons is written by Dina and Shawn Havranek, is 128 pages in length, and carries a retail price of $19.99.First BloodEldest Sons may be considered a “splatbook” for fantasy elves by some. The authors both recognize this and try to extend beyond the stereotype. Chapter one explores the many options for character development. You can choose to pursue the standard “d20” elf or one of the variants presented. Your choice of class may influence what type of elf you want to play.Chapter two takes a broader look at elves as a race and how they fit into your campaign. One particular sentence stands out summing up the chapter is, “Elves are not men with pointy ears.” While the classic archetype is addressed, other takes on the race are covered. Why not have your elves be custodians of the world, guiding the development of the other races behind the scenes? There are several good alternatives here including a new elven pantheon.Chapter three is the new game mechanics chapter. Two new core classes, Warder and Suromar Psihunter, are presented. The warder represents the quintessential elf. He is constantly trying to be the best elf possible. The psihunter is a psionic character (powered by arcane energy) whose strengths lies in psionic combat but is capable of casting a limited number of arcane spells. Any d20 supplement would be remiss without the inclusion of new feats. In addition to new general and metamagic feats, the Elven feat type is introduced. Elven feats are “expressions of an elf’s ties to his fairy heritage” and include feats such as, Always Ready, Arcane Knack, Difficult Target, Darkvision, and Trackless Step (along with a few more). Elorri feats are Arcanis specific and are essentially bloodline feats that bestow certain abilities depending upon your ancestors.Eight new prestige classes round out chapter three. Berota are spellcasters that specialize in controlling wind and water through magic. This is an ideal class for a naval heavy campaign. An Eldritch Craftsman is capable of imbuing weapons with enchantment bonuses and magical qualities. This is definitely an NPC-only class and probably best served as a plot device. Elfbane is a class that despises elves and seeks the total extinction of the entire race. This class has some very powerful abilities including Hatred bonuses that will stack with Favored Enemy bonuses. Elffriend is a three level PrC that has the respect and friendship of elves because of his actions. This is more of a “flavor” class and would likely see use in gaming groups that are very strong on roleplay. Grandfather is another NPC PrC. He is the eldest of his race and head of his people. Lifewardens are bane to undead. Their powers are strong but not unbalancing and complement a cleric’s abilities. Man of Two Worlds is a PrC restricted to half-elves. This class embraces the qualities of both races and gains special abilities are a result. Those Who Follow the Second Path is a different sort of prestige class. A member of this class becomes fanatical about defending his elven people to the point of hostility. He rejects the values of his own people and protects them by using any method available, even if the others don’t agree with it.Chapter four looks at the various tools of the fey and is filled with spells and magic items. Two new clerical domains are outlined, Homeland and Totem. Additionally, the spell list for the Warden and Suromar core classes may be found here. Magic items consist of new armor and weapon qualities along with miscellaneous objects.Chapters five and seven cover two distinct elven cities (one of which lies in Arcanis). Both are flavorful and can be dropped into nearly any world with little work. I am, however, a bit confused are to why these were separated into two distinct chapters and not combined into one or at least made to be consecutive chapters.Chapter six is another meaty game mechanics chapter with five new monsters and four new templates. The Eternal template changes a humanoid to undead but provides no negative energy abilities. An eternal is more a force of good and uses positive energy. Fae-Beast is a template for animals that makes them suitable as eldritch companions. Druids and rangers both would enjoy the benefits of a companion with this template. The Half-Elf template allows for the creation of half-elves other than those of elf/human descent. Half-faeries are the result of having a fey parent along with that of another race (half-faerie orcs anyone?).Critical HitsThe authors went to great lengths to convey an “elven” feel to the book. Personally, I enjoyed the bits of short fiction interwoven throughout the book and felt it contributed to that overall feel. Their intent was to offer a different perception of elves as a race, and to that extent, they succeeded. The templates were interesting, especially the Half-Elf, which I initially thought was unnecessary but later changed my mind.Critical MissesThe balance of game mechanics is an issue. The combination of psionics and arcane abilities does make the Suromar psihunter a formidable class that has some strongly numbered base attack and save bonuses. I already mentioned the need for the eldritich craftsman to be an NPC-only class. With the imbue enchantment and weapon qualities abilities, this one is ripe for abuse. Likewise the hatred bonus and smite abilities of the elfbane may overbalance a character when paired with the ranger base class.Coup de GraceOverall, Eldest Sons is a good book. Players who use Arcanis as their base campaign world are likely to benefit a little more than those who do not. This is not a book for everyone simply because of the nature of its topic. Gamers who really enjoy playing elves or GMs that run worlds with a strong elf presence will likely want to buy the book.The amount of open game content is sizeable as the book is rich in game mechanics. Some of it is Arcanis-specific and, therefore, closed content. GMs will get more use out of the book than players, but both will benefit. Is it worth the $19.99 price? It depends upon your needs, but for the most part, I feel it is. But you should look it over carefully and decide for yourself.To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to The Critic's Corner at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=382&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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